Her Manny’s Tacos T-shirt partner says, “But he’s not family, so he has to pay.”
Chapter Sixteen
Jo
The dinner resumes reasonably well, considering the bombshell. Nobody asks me about my absentee fiancé or the ugly sapphire ring, which I took off and put in my purse. I’ll be damned if I lose it and have to replace it for Aaron.
The excitement—or shock—of learning I’m pregnant seems to have made everyone forget about the ring and what it means. That’s good, because I don’t want to think about Aaron, although I know I need to eventually tell them about the distasteful engagement. Edgar can’t stay in L.A. forever. He’s going to be heading back to Louisiana, which means he won’t be interrupting me again.
But my family remembers that they didn’t introduce themselves to Edgar, so that takes some time. He remembers everyone’s name at once, something I’ve seen the born-rich do when they want to show the other person how much they value an introduction and possible friendship.
And I think it impresses my family somewhat. They probably expected him to be a snob. A lot of my clients are. It’s good they’re forming a favorable impression of him. He is the father of my baby, after all, and there’s going to be interaction in the future. This will make all of that less awkward.
“So. Edgar, how long do you plan on staying in L.A.?” Hugo asks. I’ll bet he’s much happier with Edgar right now than he would’ve been otherwise. Barging in on my announcement has delayed the inevitable.
“As long as necessary.” Edgar’s gaze slides in my direction briefly.
Why did he look at me like that? It wasn’t seductive or sexy, but more…considering, as though I’m a huge factor in his decision. And what does he mean as long as necessary? Necessary for what? I hope he isn’t banking on changing my mind, because I already told him no, and Papa’s made it clear he won’t be giving his blessing. That’s two strikes against him. Plus he doesn’t really have a reason to stick around. He said it in front of everyone—he doesn’t love me.
The pain from that announcement lingers. Not that I expected him to profess undying devotion on his knees. We don’t know each other well enough, and I wouldn’t have believed him anyway. But I expected him to at least say he cares about me. Well, as much as a man can care about a one-night stand who accidently got pregnant.
So when Papa asked me the same question, I gave the only answer I could without humiliating myself even worse—no. Of course I don’t love him. He doesn’t love me, either!
On the other hand, I shouldn’t be too morose about the fact that he doesn’t love me. I should be happy he didn’t lie about it. As a matter of fact, he should get extra credit for his honesty when it couldn’t have been easy to tell the truth with my family hanging on to his every word, ready for something to object to or nitpick.
Stop obsessing about Edgar! He’s going to go back to Louisiana soon enough.
Besides, just because he said he’s going to be in the city as long as necessary doesn’t mean I need to spend time with him. I should focus on catching up with my family instead. That’s why we have these dinners in the first place. Fortunately, nobody’s grilling me about my pregnancy after Papa’s announcement that we’ll talk about it later.
“Would you like some wine?” Tío Manny asks Edgar, taking a bottle from Rafael. Even though he said Edgar needed to pay for his dinner, my uncle is too much of a professional host to be anything but hospitable. To him, ensuring that his guests are happy is one of the most important things in life, which is why Manny’s Tacos is the success that it is.
“I could use a glass, yes. Thank you,” Edgar answers, the picture of manners.
Mama and Tía Bea nod in unison approvingly, their eyebrows raised as though in surpri
se. They aren’t reacting like this because my previous boyfriends were uncivil savages. Edgar is polished and controlled in ways that none of my exes were. Not to mention, he doesn’t seem uncomfortable surrounded by my family, even though most of them are overbearingly protective males.
To be honest, if the situation weren’t so messy, I’d be pleased he was fitting in so well.
Tío Manny pours Edgar a glass of Tío Felipe’s Merlot and hands it over. Then my uncle watches Edgar’s face like a chef waiting for a reaction from the first person they feed a new recipe to.
I sigh inwardly. It’s a test, one he’s given many times before. And none of my exes ever said the right thing. Ever.
Edgar seems unperturbed. He swirls the vintage, sticks his nose in the glass for a good sniff, then takes a sip as though he’s at some fancy wine-tasting event in Paris rather than a family Mexican restaurant. His tongue comes out lazily to lick his lips, and I almost moan at the motion. Even though he probably did it without meaning to be seductive, it’s hot anyway. My body is suddenly remembering all the ways he licked me that night, and the muscles down there clench. A nice but very unwelcome heat suffuses me. Am I having a female equivalent of a public erection? All because Edgar flashed his tongue? This is crazy. I’ve never gotten turned on by something so common before.
But that’s no common tongue. It’s an extraordinary one, one that can give pointers to all other tongues.
Well… Yeah… I squirm in my seat to relieve the uncomfortable ache between my legs. Then I freeze. He did it again! His tongue just darted out right after he took another sip of the Merlot.
Is he doing it on purpose?
I stare at him hard enough to put a hole in his gorgeous face. But he’s too relaxed and proper to be trying to turn me on. Besides, he wouldn’t do that in front of my dad and brothers, not to mention all the other male relatives, not unless he took out a huge life insurance policy and has a death wish now.
“How do you like it?” Tío Manny asks eagerly. An unholy glimmer in his eyes betrays his excitement. He has a speech of disapproval ready to go, no matter what Edgar says.
“Yeah, why don’t you tell us what you think?” Rinaldo adds lazily.
Et tu, Rinaldo? He’s never joined in with Tío Manny like this before.